Some season tickets will go up by nearly six per cent, according to Passenger Focus. The TSSA rail union warned that thousands of commuters in the South-east will pay £5,000 for their season tickets for the first time.

Ministers have capped rises for regulated fares such as season tickets at an average 4.2 per cent.

That is based on July’s 3.2 per cent retail price index inflation figure plus one per cent.

But some train firms can raise some regulatedfares by five per cent more if their average rise is 4.2 per cent.

There is also no cap on unregulated fares, such as advance and long distance anytime tickets, which account for 60 per cent of the total sold.

TSSA leader Manuel Cortes said £5,000-a-year season tickets meant hard-up families had to find huge sums just to get to work each day.

£5,000-a-year season tickets mean hard-up families must find huge sums just to get to work each day

The Association of Train Operating Companies said: “The Government, not train companies, decides how much season tickets should rise.”